


Because Nothing Ever Ends

by professor, SharpestScalpel



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Crack, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, And Got a Little Out of Hand, Crack, Enthusiastic Consent, Erik Is Crushing Harder Than A 12-Year-Old Girl, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Multi, Neither Does The Other Author, Okay A Lot, Pining, Quest, Rescue, The Author Regrets Nothing, This Was Originally A Minifill You Guys, Trolling, Unicorns, Virgin Sacrifice, boys being dumb, the gang's all here, what is my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-22
Updated: 2012-11-22
Packaged: 2017-11-19 06:05:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 14,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/professor/pseuds/professor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharpestScalpel/pseuds/SharpestScalpel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An epic round robin fill originally posted to the kinkmeme, wherein SharpestScalpel and I took turns writing the crackiest crack that ever cracked.</p>
<p>For this prompt:</p>
<p>  <i>Charles is a virgin. King Shaw uses him as bait to capture unicorns.</i></p>
<p>  <i>Prince Erik is in love with Charles, but they can't do it because, you know, unicorns. And because Charles doesn't want Shaw using Raven instead.</i></p>
<p>  <i>But eventually they do it anyway (good job, guys) and Charles gets thrown in prison and Erik gets cast out of the kingdom.</i></p>
<p>  <i>BUT TRUE LOVE PREVAILS, OBVIOUSLY, AND SOMEHOW THEY GET BACK TOGETHER AND OVERTHROW SHAW AND SAVE A BUNCH OF UNICORNS OR SOMETHING.</i><br/><i></i></p>
<p>Posted here with original story breaks and comment box subject lines mostly intact.  [Unspecified deity] help us all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dark Thoughts Are Unknown to Them

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill this prompt: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6192.html?thread=7571504#t7571504

Shaw, his black horns glinting in the candle light, asked the ritual question and Prince Erik answered though he wanted to roll his eyes. "Is your heart black and full of hate?"

Erik sighed. "Black as midnight, black as pitch, blacker than the foulest witch."

His heart was not, strictly speaking, black at all. It was, he suspected, much the color of blood and muscle and flesh in the fashion of all the other hearts he had seen. If, that was, he so much as had a heart. Erik was not convinced; certainly, he thought, if he had a heart, he would not be participating in this farce - bathing in unicorn blood gave Shaw his power as king but, in his opinion, if one needed to slay magical creatures to stay in power then perhaps one was doing something wrong.

Of course, Erik was helping. He sighed again.

"Do you think you can upset the order of the universe and not pay the price?" Prince Charles did not struggle in his bonds - he had given that up the fifth time they had completed the ritual. But his passive resistance was not without its effect - his soft whispers and, if Erik were completely honest with himself, ruby red lips had swayed Erik's mind. Charles's sky blue eyes hadn't hurt his case either.

Eyes focused on his own hands instead of on the skin revealed at Charles's waist, Erik reached low to tighten the chain at Charles's waist, the chain that would prevent the unicorn from freeing the virgin sacrifice. "When Shaw is done with you, meet me in the forest, by the crook of the creek under the tree with two forks."

Erik might not have a heart, but he had a brain. And the beginnings of a plan that did not include the blood of magical creatures.


	2. Unicorns Are Like Sharks With Horns (Not Like Narwhals)

If Charles had been a normal prince when he was a teenager, he'd have had sex with his bathers. That's what Erik had done. That's what all the other princes Erik knew had done - and granted that wasn't actually a large number of princes but still. Logic.

But, no, Charles had been all _pure_ and _innocent_ and Charles had wanted to play with the unicorns more than he'd wanted to play with himself. Erik considered that a damn shame.

Erik waited in the forest, at the crook of the creek under the tree with two forks. He waited until midnight, when he knew the unicorn would find Charles, chained to the sacrifice table. He waited until 1am, when he knew Shaw would have bleed the unicorn and released Charles, though probably only after reasserting how valuable a service Charles was doing for him, how wonderful Charles was, how handsome....

The unicorn would have arrived in the clearing with a rain of flower petals. That was just how unicorns travelled. It would have run its horn all over Charles's bound body. It would nudge at Charles's tender parts until Charles writhed and panted - and then the unicorn would break Charles's chains with it's gleaming silver hooves.

It was impossible to decide if unicorns were more into cock blocking or cock teasing. Either way, Erik figured, they were bastards.

The first time, he'd stayed for the entire ritual. Then he'd jerked off furiously before he'd even left the forest. It would have been mortifying, except for the way it was utterly humiliating; Charles had found him before Erik could finished, had watched dispassionately while Erik grunted and stroked himself and bit his own lip.

Because that was exactly the impression Erik had always wanted the other prince to have of him.

The second time, Erik had made it back to his bedroom.


	3. Charles' Poor Life Decisions

If Charles had had any damn sense, he'd have had sex with his bathers when he was a teenager like all the other princes he knew. ( _Like Erik_ his traitorous mind whispered).

But no, it had meant so much to Raven, that she and Charles could play with the unicorns _together_. And admittedly, playing with the unicorns had been delightful at the time.

Still, in retrospect, Charles couldn't help but feel he'd made a poor life decision. Because now he was getting chained up by a creepy demonic king on a semi-regular basis, used as bait to draw in the unicorns to their deaths. And Shaw had made it clear, it was Charles or it was Raven.

And not just that, but he was providing a free show for not just Shaw but also for _certain other people_ that Charles really hated right now. Like stupid princes with stupid green eyes and stupid perfect cheekbones that could cut glass. Who helped kill beautiful, magical creatures and then _jerked off about it in the forest_.

And Charles clearly still didn't have any damn sense, because he was seriously considering meeting the aforementioned stupid prince to see what he wanted. ( _It doesn't matter what he wants, and you know it, it only matters that he called_.)

Charles hopes that Raven is doing better with her end of the plan.


	4. It's Cold In The Forest In The Middle Of The Night

It was cold in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night. And Erik had a nice warm bed. Maybe he should have asked Charles to meet him there instead of standing around in next to a babbling water source that was making him need to pee. Maybe he should have thought of that before he set himself up to freeze his balls off - his blue balls because, really, he hadn't had any proper time to spend with his bathers in weeks.

Not that they were really who he wanted...

Dangerous. For his plan to work, Charles would still need to be able to summon the unicorns. So no filthy thoughts about the pale span of his neck or how his lips would look kiss-bruised and suckling on Erik's fingers...

Erik shook himself; the minute he stuck his hand down his pants was guaranteed to be the minute Charles showed up.

"Higher, higher, burning fire, making music like a choir." Shaw's ritual was catchy, if nothing else. But, really, returning the darkness to its source was going to take more than an appreciation of simple metered rhyme. It was going to take ingenuity. And distraction. And a unicorn horn.

Which meant it was going to take Charles.

When Shaw was feeling particularly perverse, he made Erik guard Charles's rooms. And when Erik guarded the virgin's rooms, he wondered what Charles got up to behind those gilded walls.


	5. Where There Is Life, There is Hope

Finally, _finally_ Shaw is finished with the ritual, and with his post-ritual ritual, where he reminds Charles repeatedly how _wonderful_ he is and how _grateful_ Shaw is and how much Charles _owes_ him and how lying on a slab for a few hours isn't such a bad way to repay him, now is it, Charles?

Charles wants to vomit. And to cry. But not in front of Shaw. _Never_ in front of Shaw. Instead he bows, expressionless, and strides into the forest, hoping to lose his way, lose _himself_ , if only for a few blissful minutes.

This was practically the only time Charles had even an illusion of freedom. Most of the time, Shaw keeps him locked in an opulent cage, provided with everything he was supposed to want and absolutely nothing that he needed.

And while Raven is laying groundwork, she has to be slow and cautious, and Charles doesn't know how much longer he can keep doing this.

That might be the real reason he is going to meet Erik. Because Charles is willing to grasp at the faintest shred of hope.

Charles comes around a bend and sees Erik waiting for him. He takes a breath, and steps forward to meet his only hope.

Or his doom.


	6. By The Light Of The Silvery Moon

He was going to leave, really, he was: Erik was a prince, dammit, and princes didn't wait in the forest in the middle of the night for... assignations that were never going to take place. He kicked at a tree root but his foot caught. Erik fell face down into a pile of rotting leaves.

Lovely. Because the night couldn't get any more perfect.

Erik heaved a sigh, then, because the night _could_ in fact get more perfect - Mother Night was obviously laughing at him. The clouds parted, silvery moon beams filled the small clearing, and Charles came into view.

Still wearing the loose white shirt and pants Shaw thought was most appropriate - though it just made Erik want to dirty the man up. The fabric at his wrists and ankles was dirty; Erik would have to polish the chains before the next ritual.

That sounded far more euphemistic then it had when he'd originally thought it. Good thing he hadn't actually said it.


	7. The Solace of the Shadows

Charles suppresses a vicious surge of satisfaction at seeing Erik covered in rotting leaves, rotting like his _black heart_.

"Why did you call me here?" he asks softly.

Erik merely looks up at him. (Charles pretends he doesn't look utterly fetching, on his knees like that) He looks at Charles, then looks away. Opens his mouth as if to answer, and closes it. It's as if Erik himself doesn't know.

"I--" falters Erik. "I have a plan." Which he proceeds to explain to Charles, only stumbling a few times over his words.

Charles goes cold with shock. He _knows_ , somehow Erik knows about the unicorn horn that the (rapidly diminishing) herd had given to Charles, that Charles had given to Raven to take away to be forged into a weapon that can bring down Shaw --

But no, Erik continues to explain that Charles and Erik would need to perform the ritual themselves, without Shaw around, in order to get ahold of a unicorn horn. For the greater good, of course.

 _Of course_ , thinks Charles bitterly.

And yet, Shaw is crafty and powerful, and Charles himself has consented to monstrous things because he knows if he strikes before time, he'll only wind up dead, along with his sister and probably most of the rest of the unicorns in the world. Could not Erik be doing the same thing? ( _You want it to be true, so badly_ , whispers his traitorous mind, again.)

And even if he isn't, shouldn't Charles take advantage of the opportunity here? At worst it would distract Shaw, at best it's a solid contingency plan.

Charles smiles at Erik (though it doesn't reach his eyes) and agrees to help him.


	8. Am I Not Sweet?

Charles didn't like the plan.

Oh, he agreed to it, but it was obvious the other prince did not entirely approve of it. The smile that turned up his red red mouth (Erik steadfastly refused to compare it to a flower) did not reach his blue blue eyes. Erik had watched closely enough and, frankly, Charles was an awful liar.

Surely the sinking sensation in Erik's chest was not his heart. Surely it was the bit of dinner he'd filched from the cooks in the kitchen refusing to settle after an evening of Shaw's melodrama. Erik restrained a sigh. He, trained at Shaw's knee since before his first steady steps, was an excellent liar.

"An alliance then." Erik extended his hand.

Charles looked at it.

Clouds covered the moon again, cast them both in darkness. Light and dark, eternal brothers locked in an embrace. Erik did not feel particularly brotherly toward the other prince. Fortunate indeed that they were not actually related. Charles's red mouth was turned black by the shadow.

Then Charles extended his own hand, clasped hands with Erik. His skin was warm and dry and Erik thought he might throw up.


	9. The Dark of the Night

And so it is that Erik smuggles Charles out of the palace on a night of the waning moon. They can't wait for the next full moon night, since that is when Shaw will be doing his own ritual. Erik is taking a gamble -- he says from his own research that an almost full moon should be close enough.

Charles is feeling better than he has in ages, now that he's actually taking charge of his own life again. It has absolutely nothing to do with being in close quarters with the man by his side.

He stumbles in the dark and Erik grabs his wrist to steady him. Charles flushes with heat, and his denial shatters.

Shit. _You and those poor life decisions, Charles. You could have any number of valorous, steadfast and true knights, princes or princesses, and yet it is this one, Shaw's right hand, whom you have chosen. Well done._

Charles starts walking faster, now eager to have this over and done with.

*****

It doesn't work.

Charles doesn't know if it is because the night is wrong, or if Erik is simply not a skilled enough dark mage ( _please, please_ ) to perform the ritual, but for whatever reason, one hour stretches into two stretches into three, and no unicorn has come.

(Charles would love to think that it's because the local herd has finally, _finally_ gotten smart and migrated, but he knows better.)

"This isn't working, Erik," he says. "Let me up."

Erik stops chanting, but makes no move to unchain him. He merely stares at Charles with those deep, fathomless eyes of his, as if the moment he stops looking Charles will vanish into thin air.

Which is preposterous. If Charles had that power he'd have fled the kingdom months, possibly years ago.

"Let me _go_ , Erik," says Charles sharply.

A fey, strange expression, not a quite a smile but not quite anything else, crosses Erik's face.

"You first," he says hoarsely, and then kisses Charles.


	10. The Dark of the Night II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (And then for a while we got lazy and stopped coming up with new comment box subject lines. Bear with us.)

He hadn't intended to kiss Charles. He hadn't, truly, because unicorns only associated with virgins and Charles was a virgin and kissing Charles...

With his tongue in Charles's mouth, the virginity requirement seemed a lot more difficult to fulfill.

Charles tasted sweet, like the honey he put in his tea every morning. Not that Erik watched him down the length of the breakfast table. Sweet like honey and a little bit spicy like the red pepper jelly Erik ate on toast for his own breakfast.

He sucked on Charles's lower lip, nipped at it just for the satisfaction of feeling the soft flesh between his teeth. Something about unicorns. Something about virgins.

Erik obviously wasn't a good enough dark mage to play the role of unicorn killer but, oh, he thought he could handle despoiling certain virgins. With _enthusiasm_.

It took him a few panting moments to realize that the hand on his shoulder was pushing away, was trying to put space between their bodies - and while Erik was many very bad things to which he'd freely admit, he wasn't interested in _forcing_ Charles to do anything. He braced for the unpleasant shock of separation, then jerked himself away, reached for the chain that bound Charles (splayed on the sacrificial slab like a gift to Erik, truly, Erik hated unicorns in that moment) with his mind; it was simple enough to release Charles from the restraints.

It was much more difficult to calm himself enough to look at Charles.

"I'm sorry. I thought it would work." He scowled to himself. One had to take gambles to reap great rewards. "Though, if you just want to avoid being Shaw's virgin sacrifice, I, uh, could help you with that."


	11. The Dark of the Night III

Charles is pretty sure that as an evil (not really), dark(ish) mage, Erik should probably taste like death or decay or dead kittens or something foul, not cinnamon with a metallic tang underneath.

He should probably be protesting.

And he will.

In a minute.

Well, maybe two minutes.

Or so.

Finally he gets his hand to move, and shoves Erik kind of half-heartedly in the shoulder, but it works because Erik pulls off of him ( _no don't_ ) eventually.

And then Erik frees him from the chain and makes Charles an offer he doesn't want to refuse.

If Charles had an ounce of sense he would say no. But he's tired. He's tired of being Shaw's pawn and tired of holding the line on his own (and god, can't those stupid unicorns just migrate already and save themselves) and can't he have just one thing, _one thing_ just for himself.

He slides down off the slab, stands in front of Erik. And pulls him down for another kiss.


	12. The Dark of the Night IV

Well, then. Erik hadn't been expecting that. Charles was shorter than he was, so Erik had to bend - and he was renowned as an unbending, strict, and rigid...

What was he thinking about?

Erik figured if Charles was kissing him this time around, that maybe some permission, some agreement was implied. And he'd double check that, just to be sure, but for the moment, he was going to enjoy himself. Erik turned them so that he could sit up on the slab, so that he could pull Charles closer, between his spread thighs. He fisted one hand in the ridiculous floppy hair that had always made him want to brush it (and, really, that urge was far more embarrassing than any of the filthy things he wanted to do with the rest of Charles's body) and used the other to span the shadowy part of Charles's neck, right under his jaw. He kept his touch light, just held on so he could feel Charles's pulse, accelerating and beating strongly right there under his fingertips.

He used his legs to urge Charles closer.

"Call that a kiss?" The familiar mocking voice jerked Erik back, sent him scrambling for some distance. He knew better than to touch Shaw's things, he did. But Charles didn't belong to Shaw - Shaw was Doing It Wrong, obviously. Still, staying out of arm's reach seemed the most prudent move he could make. He dragged Charles with him, around to the other side of the sacrificial slab.

"Just a little kiss." If his voice wavered, well, he was having trouble regulating his breathing just then.


	13. Love Is Slowing You Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we earn the mature rating on this fic.

Charles and Erik ran hand-in-hand stumbling through the forest as if the devil himself was on their heels. Which he was.

"You threw a _rock_ at Shaw?!! You threw a rock at _Shaw_?!!!" To be fair, Charles had _hit_ Shaw with that rock. And Shaw had gone down like a ton of bricks.

Still, as plans went, Erik still couldn't believe it had worked.

"Yes, because your plan of _let's hide behind the sacrificial slab_ was so much better." Erik liked Charles better when he was being the stoic sacrifice and less when he was being sarcastic, and also dismissive of Erik's own _completely understandable_ panicked reaction.

And they ran, they ran so far away, but of course no place was far enough from Shaw.

And when they got to the crook of the creek under the tree with two forks, Charles stopped so suddenly that Erik went sprawling. They'd apparently lost Shaw for the moment but Erik knew it couldn't last.

"You offered to help me. Are you still willing?" Grim and determined looked somewhat better on Charles than sarcastic and dismissive (although what Erik really dreamed of was seeing a joyful and carefree Charles. Foolishness.)

"Yes." Erik tried desperately to think of any way to get Charles out of this, _away_ from here, and meanwhile Charles was --

Charles was -- he was -- and then he -- and _oh god Charles' mouth was on his cock_ \--

And it was good, it was so good, it was better than any he'd ever had before, it didn't matter that it was a little clumsy and unpracticed because _Charles was the one doing it_ \--

And it was so very hard for Erik to think, but one thought did shake loose, that maybe for virgin despoiling purposes this might not quite count --

So Erik twisted around and repositioned himself and fumbled with Charles' clothing and Erik got _his_ mouth on _Charles'_ cock --

And Charles _moaned_ around Erik's cock and god, that _sound_ , the _vibrations_ \--

Sucking and being sucked, it's amazing, incredible, the circle of life and all that shit, and Erik will never regret this, ever.

Six hours later when Shaw's minions drop him stark naked in the middle of the neighboring -- hostile -- kingdom, Erik still doesn't regret it.

He hopes Charles feels the same.


	14. Think of Me, Babe, Whenever Some Sweet-Talking Despotic Demon Comes Along

Charles regrets a lot of things. He regrets not having sex with his bathers and he regrets letting Raven talk him into visiting the local unicorn herd on a regular basis in the first place and he regrets letting Shaw know - court gossip being what it was - that Charles was still a virgin. He regrets not hurrying Raven along in her plan once Shaw knowing about Charles's virginity had become a problem.

He regrets not going away to get an education. That might have been where everything went wrong.

But he doesn't regret the hasty... simultaneous blowjob? There isn't really a word that Charles knows to describe what he and Erik had shared and he didn't just mean that in regards to the way he felt all warm and inexplicably happy when he thought about it. The lack of vocabulary did not sit well with Charles.

It was a shame there was little he could do to rectify the situation, imprisoned, as he was, in a giant metal birdcage hanging from Shaw's bedroom ceiling. It wasn't like he could ask the guards - or Shaw, for that matter. He could just imagine how poorly that would go, particularly when he got around to describing how wondrous it had felt to bring Erik so much pleasure.

And he would definitely leave out the part where he'd kneed Erik in the face at the instant of his first orgasm. Charles was not entirely proud of that moment.

He hoped Erik's nose wasn't actually broken.

***

Clothing was the first order of business. Erik certainly knew how to skulk around and not be noticed but it was much harder to do it naked, because people tended to notice when naked men wandered around and kept to the edges of crowds. People tended to think naked men wandering around were up to no good.

Erik was not quite vain enough to think he could talk his way out of that kind of situation based on the strength of his... assets. Particularly with the broken nose he'd walked away from Charles with.

He might not be a good enough dark mage to summon a unicorn (and, really, Erik had his doubts about Shaw's ritual now that he'd had a chance to try to perform it; it was possible Shaw had just been getting lucky (so to speak)), but Erik was still capable enough when it came to communing with the nature spirits - they pointed him toward a nearby farmhouse where Erik stole clothing off the laundry line without remorse.

See, Erik thought, _heartless_.

Of course he intended to sneak back into Shaw's kingdom. He just needed to find someone who could set his nose first. Breathing was a very important part of overthrowing an evil overlord.


	15. Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News

"May I ask, how did you acquire this injury?" asks the young physician as he applies a healing salve to Erik's broken nose.

Erik ponders for one moment telling the truth, just to see the reaction. _My boyfriend kneed me in the face while I sucked him to his very first orgasm_.

"I tripped," says Erik in a tone that clearly conveys _I am lying and you know it and I know it and I know you know it but I'm not going to give you a different answer_.

"Understood," says the doctor as he bandages Erik's nose. He goes to a cabinet, pulls out a small bottle. "Take two drops of this every ---" he cuts off at the sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats.

Erik tenses, and quietly extends his senses. He's not detecting anything of Shaw's, and yet --

A distraught, bedraggled blonde woman bursts through the doorway and throws herself into the physician's arms. "Hank!"

The physician -- Hank -- looks simultaneously shocked and pleased. "Raven! What are you doing here?" He frowns at her appearance. "What happened? Are you all right?"

" _I'm_ fine, but my brother, oh Hank it's _terrible_ \--" she cuts off when she realizes Hank is not alone, then does a double-take when she sees who Hank is fixing up. Her gaze turns murderous.

Erik, for his part, has just recognized her as Charles' sister Raven, and suspects this will not go well.

It doesn't.

*****

"Honestly Raven, I just set his nose. Couldn't you have hit him somewhere else?" says Hank wearily, as he applies more salve.

"Like hell! My brother has been imprisoned in a _bird cage_ in Shaw's _bedroom_ because of him!" Raven hisses.

Hank and Raven continue to argue, but it all falls away from Erik as his vision goes dark, his heart plunges into an icy abyss. He can't hear anything over the thunderous pounding of blood in his own ears.

It didn't matter if Erik had to crawl miles over broken glass and rip out Shaw's throat with his _teeth_ as the last of Erik's own life bled out. Shaw would DIE, and Erik would _eat his heart_.

Erik distantly notes that the room has gone absolutely silent, and comes back to himself to see Hank and Raven staring at him with horrified expressions.

Oh. Apparently he'd said that last bit out loud.

Raven recovers first. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I'm all for killing Shaw, but what's your plan?"

Oh right. He probably needed one of those. At least one that was more detailed than "Kill Shaw, rescue Charles, and fuck him until neither of us can move."

Probably not what Raven wants to hear, though. "I don't have a plan." And, okay, she probably didn't want to hear that either.

Raven's mouth twists wryly. "Luckily for us, I do."


	16. Went To A Party Last Saturday Night, Didn't Get Laid, Got In A Fight

If Charles had just _told_ him that he had a unicorn horn, Erik's thoughts throbbed in time with his much-abused nose, he could have _already killed Shaw with it_ and none of this would be necessary. But no, Erik thought in time with his regular marching steps as they walked back towards Shaw's kingdom, no, Charles had to be all... really, actually, why wouldn't Charles tell him something like that?

"Why wouldn't Charles tell me something like that?" He ignored the note in his voice that could, he would have had to admit if he were paying attention to it, be identified as petulant. "I told him my plan, which, you know, could have been aided if he'd just told me your plan."

It wasn't that his feelings were hurt so much as... okay, his feelings were hurt. Charles obviously didn't trust him. Charles had put his mouth on Erik's cock (and, really, thinking about that still made him smile a toothy, ridiculous grin) but he hadn't put his trust in Erik's actions.

Raven snorted. She wasn't a very nice person. Once he'd forgiven her for hitting him in his _broken_ nose, Erik was going to like her very much. "Has it escaped your attention that you were Shaw's favorite? I mean, you were chaining Charles up and jerking off over killing unicorns. That doesn't inspire trust."

Charles had apparently told her about that. Well then. It wasn't like he was using his dignity for anything important, really. It wasn't like he was a prince of the realm and people respected (and feared) him. It wasn't like he was in line to rule the kingdom once they'd killed Shaw (and he'd eaten his heart - he'd need recipes for that because Erik might have some dark mage experience but, ew, raw heart). He heaved a sigh.

"It wasn't like that." He hadn't, to be fair, been terribly upset by the killing of the unicorn. But he'd mostly been focused on Charles, all milky and _virginal_ being spread out and chained to the sacrificial slab. That wasn't strange at all.

Hank's skin flushed bright red. The doctor was a little bit of a prude. Erik wondered what on Earth Raven saw in him but then he wasn't really going to quibble about anyone's choice of partner given his own preference for, well, his preferences were really summed up by: Charles.

He could feel Raven's squinty-eyed stare. She gaped at him. "Oh, Father Sunlight, you liked having him tied up, didn't you? No, don't answer that, he's my _brother_. I don't need to know."

Smiling hurt his nose. But, really, Charles had put his mouth on Erik's cock. Why shouldn't Erik smile?

***

Shaw was most assuredly _not_ a virgin. Charles sat cross-legged in the bottom of his bird cage and tried not to watch Shaw's ass as he thrust into one of his bathers. Shaw had a pimple on his ass. Charles had a very inappropriate urge to mention it.

The bather didn't look very happy. Shaw roared when he finished and Charles couldn't help but compare it to the helpless sound Erik had made, well, the helpless sound he'd made before he yelped in pain. Charles was certain he would never have the opportunity to boast about it (he wasn't sure if the other princes shared stories about their bedroom prowess but he didn't think he'd really be the type to participate in such talk - though he wondered if Erik was), but he hadn't done a bad job - his first blow job, giving his first blow job, had gone remarkably well.

There was little else to ponder; Shaw called for his other bather. Charles rolled his eyes.


	17. Ice Ice, Baby

Erik was beginning to regret not stealing horses to ride -- why did they have to walk back to Shaw's kingdom, anyway, just because Raven had ridden her horse flat out to reach Hank and it needed to rest -- when, as if heralded by Erik's thought, there came the sound hoofbeats rapidly approaching through the trees.

Erik grinned. If it was bandits the three of them could steal their horses. Also Erik was in the mood to hit something.

The riders came out of the trees and --

Well, shit.

Not bandits.

Definitely NOT bandits.

*****

"This is interesting," drawled Emma Frost, Sorceress-Regnant. "I'm fairly certain I _closed_ our borders when Shaw began his unicorn slaughtering. And yet here we have Shaw's favorite, and another member of Shaw's court, being assisted by one of _our_ subjects. How did _this_ happen?"

Erik knows his lines, he's supposed to say something along the lines of _We were just out for a stroll, I had_ no idea _we'd crossed over your border, terribly sorry_ and let the politicking begin.

Screw that. "Shaw banished me and had his minions drop me here in the hopes you would kill me." The archers in Frost's entourage clearly hope that Frost will allow them to do just that, the way they are going for their weapons.

Frost raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Really. And why would he do that? According to my sources, you've been his main assistant in the rituals."

Erik tucks that bit of info away for the moment. "Yes, well, as of about a day ago, he no longer has a royal virgin to use for the summoning."

Frost's smooth expression betrays nothing. "Well, then allow me to offer my condolences to the sister of the deceased."

Raven's mouth quirks. "That's not how he did it, Emma."

Frost actually unbends enough to laugh at that. " _Really_. How delightful!" She looks over at Raven. "I must say I did wonder why you had let him live if he _had_ killed Charles."

Erik is rapidly getting tired of being talked over. At least Hank looks just as in the dark as Erik is.


	18. Going To The Chapel

Erik restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Rolling his eyes was too juvenile, really. "If everyone really wants to stand around and talk about how I deflowered Charles, we can certainly do that. But, really, I hate to kiss and tell." Actually, Erik had never minded sharing details in the past. It was just that he didn't think Charles would appreciate it if he told everyone how wide Charles's eyes had been, how raspy his voice, how shaky his legs when they had finished. And, well, it just seemed kind of personal. And also it would probably be unfair if he killed them after telling them about it because no one was going to know how soft and happy Charles's mouth was after orgasm but Erik, thank you all very much.

He was, admittedly, a tad possessive. He'd have to work on that.

Frost was not a popular figure inside Shaw's kingdom - he took that back. She was a popular _figure_ because the woman really was quite attractive. But she was as dangerous as any other sorcerer - the pretty face and fantastic boobs had fooled many enemies in the past.

Was he still allowed to think that about her boobs? Erik would discuss that with Charles later.

***

Emma did roll her eyes, juvenile or not. Shaw's favorite was a rangy thing, all legs and cheekbones. He was as opposite as could be when compared to Charles - if there was a poster boy for sunshine and rainbows (and unicorns) that kid was it.

Though, really, she ought not think of him as a child anymore; Charles was more than old enough to have contacted her through his sister, after all, in a bid to win her aid. He had a knack for finding unexpected allies, Charles did. Emma didn't know of anyone else who had ever been given the horn of a unicorn, after all.

And he'd promised to give it to her after using it to kill Shaw, in exchange for her help. Emma wasn't entirely sure what she would do with a unicorn horn but it was certainly a powerful enough talisman that she wanted it. However, Emma would have helped to overthrow Shaw anyway. He'd treated her so poorly when they had been betrothed. She was not _pining_ after him; she simply wanted to make sure the entirety of both kingdoms knew: no one left Emma Frost, Sorceress-Regnant at the altar.


	19. Emma Is A Troll

Charles hadn't actually expected anything about being locked in a cage to be pleasant. So mealtime was a surprise.

Shaw was off doing whatever evil sorcerers did during their downtime (besides bathers) and so Charles didn't bother paying attention to the food server and the two guards that came with him, until said server was up the ladder and handing him a tray through the bars.

"Dude, so I heard you finally got your V-card punched. High five!" Sean pushed his hand through the bars and held it vertically, palm flat.

Charles just goggled. "You -- How -- What are you doing here, Sean?!" This was _dangerous_. Shaw could have any number of ways to monitor his own chambers, not to mention the guards below. Charles had few enough friends at court that he didn't want to lose one.

Sean blinked. "We came to bust you out, duh." He nods his head down at the guards, who are actually Darwin and Alex, two more young lords of Shaw's court and friends of Sean and Charles.

Charles shook his head. "No, it's too danger--" but Sean cut him off, looking uncharacteristically serious.

"No, you've been telling us that it's too dangerous to act for _months_ , and you've been all noble and sacrificial and stuff to buy time. We are done waiting! We are getting you out of here, and then we are _leaving_." Sean produced a key.

*****

The boys had planned the escape well, taking the back ways down to the stables and stealing the four horses loaded down with supplies that had been waiting for them -- the work of another accomplice, Charles was told.

It wasn't until they were safely down the road aways (after having laid several false trails) that Charles dared to ask, "Where are we going?"

"To meet Raven. She's finalizing negotiations with Sorceress-Regnant Frost," answered Darwin.

Charles was utterly relieved Raven had gotten out already, and felt ashamed for not asking after her earlier. ( _You were too busy pretending you didn't want to ask about someone else_ ).

*****

Negotiations were going quite well, actually, after Emma had mentally adjusted to the idea that Erik wouldn't be quietly assassinated during or after the uprising against Shaw. The original plan called for a new ruler for the neighboring kingdom that Emma would consider doing business with, and as Shaw's favorite, Erik had not been under consideration.

Now, well, after hearing what had transpired, Emma had concluded that A) Erik would be more trouble to kill than was worthwhile and B) Should she actually succeed in killing Erik, Charles, who knew how to play a long game and was much more devious than others gave him credit for, would find a way to make her really, really regret it.

Emma is pretty damn sure she knows which person, or which two people, would be ruling Shaw's kingdom after he was taken care of.

That didn't mean she couldn't have some fun, though.

"I have just one more condition to assure your good faith," Emma says in her loftiest tones. "To strengthen ties between our two kingdoms, I propose a marriage alliance between Charles and my cousin, the Lady Moira."

Emma sits back in her saddle and waits for the fireworks to start.


	20. It's Still True That Emma Is A Troll

She didn't have long to wait. Erik raised a single eyebrow. Which was soon joined by a second raised eyebrow. And then all the trappings and draperies and livery on the horses and surrounding soldiers started to rattle and flutter, as though a dire wind were on the rise.

"The Lady Moira. I'm sure she's lovely." Erik's words were fair but his teeth were gritted together, a grimace trying to be a smile. "But Charles will not marry her." He coughed. "We don't believe in arranged marriages in our kingdom.

That was not entirely accurate. Shaw married off princes and princesses right and left, to anyone who struck his fancy. Erik did not believe in arranged marriages unless he got to arrange for Charles to marry him. Which struck him as entirely premature. Not that he wasn't willing to marry Charles. Just... they hadn't even had more than one occasion on which to kiss.

And it was probable that Charles would want to be consulted before Erik declared himself his betrothed anyway.

"Moira is beautiful. Dark hair and tawny skin and a lovely pink mouth. I think she'd be just Charles's type." Emma was not entirely sure how she kept a straight face. Moira and Erik could not be more similar in some ways - but they were not physically alike. "And if you're going to hold the kingdom, you're going to have to learn to compromise and negotiate. Arranged marriages are just part of politics."

"The wind picked up.

"And who are you going to marry?" Erik tasted blood where he'd bitten his cheek too hard.


	21. Trolling Trolling Trolling, Keep Those Wagons Trolling

"Well." Emma tapped a finger to the her lips, pretended to think. "Since you've rejected my first suggested alliance ... I suppose I could offer my hand in marriage to _you_. Unite our kingdoms, etcetera."

A bolt of lightning came out of the clear blue sky, striking right next to Emma. Emma to her credit, did not flinch. (And no one had to know that she'd quietly strengthened her personal shields and was keeping a magical death grip on her mount, to keep it from bolting.)

"No." said Erik in a soft, deadly tone. "Thank you." he spit out after Raven elbowed him (brave girl).

Emma sighed, pretending resignation. "No? Very well then. Here are the weapons, supplies and mounts, as promised." She waved forward two members of her entourage, who led a string of well-laden horses over to Erik.

"My representatives will be going with you, to assist as needed. Full ambassadorial privileges, the whole deal." said Emma, waving her hand imperiously. "Once you've taken care of your little domestic problem, send an ambassador back and we'll hammer out some trade agreements."

Erik's group quickly saddled up, and rode off. Emma gave a cheeky little wave and yelled "Have fun storming the castle!" Emma privately thought it would take a miracle to work, but she had faith in Charles' ability (or possibly Erik's) to produce a miracle.

Emma waited until their party had left, and were well out of earshot, and then laughed herself sick.

*****

Erik rode hard and fast to work off some of the rage he felt, so it was a couple hours into their journey before he felt the need to ask about these two strangers Frost had foisted on him.

He slowed down enough to ride in step with Frost's first representative, a woman with dark hair ... and tawny skin ... and pink lips ...

Frost wouldn't have -- what was he thinking, _of course_ she would have.

Erik sighed. Best get this over with. "Lady Moira, I presume?" Erik made a mental note to figure who in his court pissed off Frost the most, and to appoint them ambassador to her court.

The woman blinked. "No. The name's Angel. And if you want to get technical about it, yes there's a 'lady' in front of it, but I don't usually use it in my line of work."

"Which is?"

"Waste removal."

Erik wondered why Frost thought he needed a sanitation engineer; Shaw was evil but he also liked his comforts, and the castle aqueducts were the best to be found within ten kingdoms. And with all that black leather, Angel couldn't possibly crawl around in ducts without it getting filthy --- _oh_.

Right. Assassin.

Erik and Angel spent a good half hour comparing techniques, and Erik found himself actually enjoying the conversation. (Angel even had a good recipe for cooking a human heart --"I had this one client, there was a thing with her stepdaughter and a forest and a mirror, anyway raw heart doesn't keep well for travel, and she wanted the proof.")

Finally Erik excused himself, thinking he should introduce himself to the other representative, who was currently deep in conversation with Raven.

Raven looked up and grinned. Erik felt faintly unsettled without knowing why.

"Erik!" Raven said just a shade too sweetly. "Come meet my friend, the Lady Moira."

"Hello," said Moira, her pink lips twisted into a cheeky little grin. "Raven's told me _so_ much about you."


	22. Moira? Also A Troll.

To be fair, Erik hadn't said anything unflattering about the Lady Moira. Just that Charles would not be marrying her. He suspected that Raven had not done him the same courtesy in the midst of her gossip.

"Odds are good that everything she has told you about me is true in some fashion or another." Erik smiled with too many teeth. "And I'm sure you're a wonderful person."

It was just that he had no intention of giving Charles up to anyone.

Erik's smile was not particularly friendly; Moira's smile was equal to it. "If you'd just _asked_ Charles if you could tie him up, he probably would have said yes. Did you really need to murder that which was pure and innocent in your pursuit of sexual gratification?"

The blush started at his ears and spread down his neck. He was going to have to check Shaw's library to see if there was some sort of memory alteration ritual. Because he was never going to live that down.

Raven giggled. "To give him some credit, Charles caught an eyeful and seemed quite impressed."

That was just-- "He didn't get an eyeful, I'm far more careful about where I point than..." Erik trailed off. Oh. "You meant metaphorically." His ears felt like they were burning.

Raven and Moira doubled over the necks of their horses, held on to their reins so they didn't fall off their horses from the force of their laughter. Erik, with quite perfect posture, slowed down to go ride with Angel some more.


	23. Let's Talk About Sex, Baby, Let's Talk About You and Me

It wasn't that Charles wasn't grateful for the rescue. It's just that staying in Shaw's cage might have almost been preferable to all the questions and leading statements and innuendoes ( _in your endo_ , Alex had said, sweet Father Sunlight) that the boys were bombarding him with. Now that they were a bit down the road and less concerned about immediate pursuit, Darwin and Alex and Sean all wanted _details_.

And when Charles refused to give them, they'd started _speculating_. Very loudly. In graphic detail.

It was, it was _private_ , between him and Erik. No one needed to know how good Erik had tasted, or felt, or how hot and eager his mouth had been around Charles' cock. Charles was feeling a bit more optimistic about his chances of having an opportunity to do it again with Erik, provided Erik forgave him for the whole kneeing him in the face thing. Of course _Charles_ had forgiven _Erik_ for the whole slaughtering unicorns thing, and objectively that was much worse.

So, more blowjobs. And maybe some other things. (He was absolutely _not_ taking notes based on the lewd suggestions Darwin, Alex and Sean kept making. Not at all.)

"-- So did he even free you from the slab, or just leave you chained up while you two got busy?" asked Darwin.

Charles pretended to ignore the question, but thought, _Oooh, maybe we could try that_.


	24. Reunited and It Feels So Good

Why was Emma's kindgom so large? So long, if not wide? She was a size queen, obviously (literally). Erik shifted in the saddle, bored and impatient. He was definitely going to have words with Azazel about how far into enemy territory the transportation mage had dropped him. He owed Erik big time, after all, for introducing him to Prince Janos. Janos had such pretty hair - Erik could have had fun with that.

Not that he was interested now (Charles had very pretty hair, too). Azazel was welcome to Janos. But that didn't negate favors done in the past.

He shifted again, but then froze, stopped his horse and made eye contact with Angel who had done the same thing. More riders, traveling fast but also carelessly - not bandits then but one could never be too careful.

Raven and the Lady Moira walked their horses off the road at Angel's hand signal; Erik noted all of it in case he needed to do the same in the future. He and Angel stationed themselves at either side of the road, ready to let peaceful travellers pass or attack the rear of hostile forces.

He certainly wasn't expecting to recognize the voice that reached their ears before the riders came into view.

"Sean, how many times do I have to tell you that I am not going to tell you? I'd really rather like to have sex with him again, after all."

Oh, Charles.

Wait. Charles. Charles was... Erik spurred his mount toward the riders. If it was a trap, so be it. It was _Charles_. Angel, Raven, and even Moira were close on his horse's heels. Hooves. Whatever. They bore down on the four riders at full speed.

***

"Ow." Erik planned to glare at the red-headed man who had hit him _in the nose_ once he could open his eyes. Erik could, begrudgingly, appreciate that (wasn't he a food attendant in Shaw's quarters? Shawn or Shane or something like that?) the man had panicked. Maybe Erik should not have rushed up on them like that. But _really_ , why did it have to be his nose again?

"Oh, Raven, Raven, I'm so glad we found you!" Charles's voice pries Erik's eyes open where his anger at being hit (once again, again unfairly) had not succeeded. Charles and his sister flung themselves off of their horses and embraced. It was, Erik was quite sure, very touching. He kind of wanted to throw up.

Raven snuffled and buried her face against Charles's chest - a feat, Erik thought, because she was actually taller than her brother. "I was so worried, Charles!" She straightened, looked her brother over as though assuring herself he was all in one piece. "And then I found Erik in the middle of Emma's kingdom and I didn't know--"

***

"Erik?" Charles finally looked at the other riders - the unfamiliar horses had been coming so quickly and Charles had never been in any sort of a fight before, much less a battle on horseback. Alex and Darwin had leapt forward to defend him and even Sean and swung wildly with his fists. And it had all been over so quickly that Charles had only had eyes for Raven.

"Oh, Father Sunlight, Erik!" Charles wrenched himself out of Raven's embrace (she was lovely, but she was his _sister_ and he wasn't a _child_ after all, to be clinging to his sister. He rushed and stumbled and - maybe he should act more reserved - stopped in front of Erik instead of flinging himself up onto the man's horse and into his arms. "Um. Hi."

"Hello." Erik's voice was cool and slightly distant, as though they were meeting in Shaw's royal banquet hall instead of on the road to Shaw's kingdom. Charles had the sudden chilling feeling that he had made a terrible mistake. Erik didn't feel the same, obviously. Erik had just been doing him a favor. Not even a pity fuck, really, they hadn't had time for that. Charles's face flamed with the shame of it.

But he could not turn away from Erik's sea glass eyes. And maybe he was not entirely mistaken after all because Erik looked back at him, Erik kept looking.

"No eye fucking in front of your sister, _Charles_!" Raven laughed followed him and pulled Charles back in for another relieved hug.


	25. Poker Face

"Are people's fists just magnetically attracted to your nose?" grumbled Hank as he set Erik's nose for the third time, and gave him more painkilling potion.

Erik was beginning to wonder that himself. But mostly he wanted Hank to hurry up and finish so Erik could talk to Charles, who had quietly slipped off when Hank had accosted Erik and started physician-ing at him.

*****

Raven was so relieved Charles was okay, and then she was caught up in introducing him to Moira and Angel. So it took a while before she realized something else was bothering him.

"So what else is bothering you, Charles?" she said, and his head snapped up in surprise. "Don't try to pretend there's nothing."

Charles bit his lip. "It's just ... Erik, he seemed rather, well, _distant_. Like he didn't care." Charles cast his eyes downward.

Raven just stared at him, wondering how he'd missed Erik riding like a bat out of Mother Night's domain to get to him. But then she thought back and recalled, yes, Erik's greeting had been a bit cool, and what was that about? Pride? Dignity? Did he really even need those things? _Men_.

Raven thought about telling Charles about how Erik had faced down Sorceress-Regnant Emma Frost and refused to let Charles marry Lady Moira (or anyone but Erik, Raven suspected), but as she opened her mouth, Moira, who had been standing in earshot, put a hand on her arm.

Raven looked at her, and Moira shook her head. Then she canted her head back toward Erik, and smirked.

Raven shut her mouth. She didn't know exactly what Moira had planned, but it was bound to be good. And so Raven got a front row seat as Moira started quietly, smoothly, politely, flirting with Charles. Nothing blatant, nothing that could not be explained away as "being friendly" or "establishing good diplomatic relations."

By the time they set up camp that night, the better to figure out their next move, Erik was redfaced and seething, Raven, Moira and Angel were hard-pressed to keep from exploding into gales of laughter, and Charles was still oblivious. Darwin had apparently caught on as well, if his smirks were any indication, but Hank, Alex and Sean were still in the dark.


	26. Emo Erik Is Emo

His pants were too tight. And something had bitten him so his leg itched. And Alex had ruined their dinner – the meat was overcooked and the rice was undercooked. Even his tent was drafty and cold. Erik stuffed his legs back into his pants and stomped back outside, in the hopes that Mother Night would provide some comfort.

Nothing had gone as he had hoped. Charles had stayed close by Raven, surrounded by the _flirtatious_ Lady Moira and by his friends from the palace. Of course someone like Charles would find friends even in a place like Shaw’s palace. Erik sighed. There was no reason to think Charles felt the same way about Erik as Erik did about Charles – it had been nothing but fantasy. He had done Charles a favor, that was all. Charles had needed to lose his virginity and Erik… Erik had been convenient.

And, really, it made sense. It made perfect sense. Erik was, as people kept pointing out to him, Shaw’s right hand – though that had certainly changed, thanks to Charles. Erik was a dark mage. Erik was a vile corruptor and perpetrator of evil deeds. Erik slept around a lot.

Charles… Charles had been so pure of heart and body that unicorns still sought him out. He was cheerful and bright and optimistic. He was thoughtful and kind. He was considerate; he had kneed Erik in the face and broken his nose but, even so, he’d made sure Erik had gotten off.

Erik wasn’t nearly suitable as a partner for that sort of prince. No, they would overthrow Shaw and then Charles would probably marry the Lady Moira. And they could rule Shaw’s kingdom. Erik would… Erik had no idea what he’d do but he supposed he could figure that out later. He certainly couldn’t stick around and watch Charles and Moira smile at each other.

He did, in fact, it would appear, have a heart. And he was fairly certain that it belonged to Charles, who didn’t want it. Erik slumped down on a cold rock at the edge of camp. He should patrol or something if he wasn’t going to sleep – if he couldn’t sleep, that was. He’d sleep if he had the choice. If he’d had the choice, he’d have finished what he and Charles had started – and then they would both be sleeping, keeping each other warm. He heaved a sigh.

“You do realize you’ve just alerted any potential spies to your exact location, right?” Angel appeared from the shadow of another rock. Her black leather garments did not even creak – she was very devoted to oiling them properly.

“Well, you’ve just confirmed your location as well,” Erik pointed out. There was not, in all honestly, much danger while they were still inside Emma’s kingdom. But it was always good to stay in practice.

She shoved him over, made him make room for him on the rock. “I think your existential angst is enough to cloak me from common view.” Erik shrugged and Angel made a face that was still easy to interpret in the night: disdain. “Why are you moping instead of initiating your boyfriend into the delights of whatever people in your kingdom euphemistically call sex?”

Erik slumped even further down. “He is not my boyfriend. I may have been overconfident in that regard.” Surely he was allowed to feel a little sorry for himself about that. Angel’s peal of laughter – which would totally draw enemy fire if he were the one spying on a camp in the middle of the night – made him frown with more energy.

“Have you even spoken to Charles since your little charge of the Mother Night brigade?” She was still laughing.

It caught him off guard. “I… didn’t think he’d be interested in talking to me.” Erik was not often unsure. It probably meant something that pretty much every time he was unsure, it involved Charles.

Angel rolled her eyes and stood up. “I’m going back to my shadow. You should see if Mother Night has visited anyone else with insomnia tonight.” She muttered something he could not quite make out, about the foolishness of dark mages. And then Angel disappeared.

Part of being a dark mage was believing in things that ought not be. Erik considered Angel’s words – it was possible the Lady Moira was just a bad person, after all. In which case he might get on very well with her. And if she did not have serious intentions toward Charles… And even if she did, well, maybe Charles did not actually return her intentions. After all, Charles was far too polite to be rude to anyone, really. And he’d run up to Erik like he was glad to see him. And when they’d first heard the group, Charles had been saying he wanted to have sex with Erik again – at least, Erik hoped that he was the person Charles had been talking about.

He stood up – Charles’s tent was right around the other side of the camp.

***

Nothing was comfortable. Charles thought, not for the first time, that he might have been better off in Shaw’s bird cage. At least he’d been warm and fed and his heart had not been entirely broken. Charles sniffled then rubbed his face. Stupid dark mages with their stupid inability to commit.

There was a rustling outside his tent. He didn’t think Angel (and she was a little impressive and scary, wasn’t she? She and Erik had gotten along famously, hadn’t they? Charles sniffed again.) would have allowed any wild animals into the camp. “Raven, if that’s you, go away. I’m tired.”

“If you are so tired, why aren’t you sleeping?” Erik dared to nudge open the tent flap. Charles was reclining on a bed that looked far more comfortable than Erik’s own – that hardly seemed fair. It also wasn’t fair just how good rumpled and sleepy looked on the other prince – hair going in all directions, slouchy too-big sleep tunic. Though he also looked unhappy. Erik felt an absurd surge of guilt.

Charles rubbed at the goosebumps that shivered up his arms – oh, Erik’s voice. (Erik’s _stupid_ voice, he meant.) His eyes went wide as Erik slipped all the way into the tent. The other man’s borrowed pants were snug and form-fitting and, really, Charles ought to be paying attention to other things but…

“I couldn’t sleep – I took a walk and it made me think of you.” Erik smiled, just a little – just enough to send Charles’s heart into his throat and blood… other places. “I thought since I was thinking of you that I should find you.”

That was promising. It was promising that Erik was thinking of him, right? Charles had no adequate response.


	27. Feelings Are Boring, Kissing Is Awesome

Charles wasn't saying anything. He just kept _looking_ at Erik with those blue, blue eyes, sad and forlorn.

"This is practically the first time you've talked to me since we met up," said Charles. "Why?"

Erik's mouth twisted bitterly. "You were a little busy. _With Lady Moira_."

Charles glared at him. "She's nice. I liked talking to her." He looked away. "I bet _she_ wouldn't have given me a pity fuck," Charles murmured too low for most human ears.

Unfortunately, Charles' had forgotten the whole "Erik is a dark mage" thing, which included enhanced senses.

"Pity?" Erik snarled. " _Pity?! Does this feel like pity to you?_ " He moves like a viper, and Charles is pinned to the floor of the tent, Erik covering Charles' entire body with his own.

"You stupid -- infuriating -- frustrating -- you've been driving me crazy for _months_ \--" gasps out Erik between kisses. "Every time, _every time_ you were on that altar, chained down and spread out, like a gift just for me, I just wanted to --" Erik sobs, and it's like a benediction. "You're amazing, perfect, pure and good, you could have anyone, _anyone_ , and probably the only reason I had a shot was because it was _convenient_ , and you think that _**I**_ gave _**you**_ a pity fuck?"

Erik seemed to regain his senses, and tried to roll away from Charles, but Charles was having none of it. Charles wrapped his legs around Erik and pulled him back down for more kisses, trying to convey without words, _I want you, I want you, be mine, please stay, never leave me again_.


	28. Authors Are Sometimes Mean For Fun; Erik Can't Catch A Break

Charles kissed him like he was dying and Erik would worry about that later, make sure Charles wasn't _actually_ dying because Erik wasn't dying - at the moment he was entirely too busy returning the kisses. With tongue. Charles was so sweet and warm and home.

_I want you, I want you, be mine, please stay, never leave me again_. His shriveled little black heart beat with it, if only Charles could hear it.

They did need to breathe - and Erik wanted to see Charles, to look at him, because blow jobs in the woods while fleeing from a demon hadn't left him with a lot of time to take in how _pretty_ Charles was - so Erik pulled back just enough to focus his eyes (it wouldn't do to go cross-eyed looking at Charles's nose) and then he laughed. They were on the floor beside Charles's extra comfortable bed. On the floor.

Charles's face crumpled, his mouth - bruised like a juicy fruit from the fervor of their kisses - turning into a frown. "And now you're laughing at me - gods and fishes, Erik, you're so _mean_!" Charles sounded like a broken-hearted child even to his own ears - he'd worry about being ashamed of himself later - but he couldn't help it. Everyone needed practice before they could be good at something. If Erik couldn't understand that then maybe he really was as horrible as--

The train of thought derailed when Erik kissed him again, small panicked kisses all over his face. "What are you doing?" Charles squinted up and realized Erik really was very heavy in a pleasant, grounding way, but it also made it a little hard for him to breath.

"I'm not laughing at you. I would never laugh at you." Erik kissed the tip of Charles's nose, then settled, face serious. He _would_ laugh at Charles, actually, had done so in the past. But he'd never do it in a _mean_ way. "I was just..." The blush high up on his sharp sharp cheekbones was actually endearing. "I was just happy and then I thought about how I didn't want to wind up cross-eyed but kissing you always makes me feel cross-eyed anyway." He settled some of his weight onto his forearms. "Also maybe we could move this to your bed instead of the floor."

Charles had always been prone to happiness and good cheer. The mood swings he'd been subject to since getting involved with Erik would have made his head hurt if he'd thought about them too much so he hadn't really thought about them much at all. He had been ready to plummet to the depths of despair and embarrassment - instead, Charles smiled so brightly the candles felt purposeless. Then he let Erik roll them over to the comfy bedroll - he wasn't going to let go of Erik unless he absolutely had to. Though, come to think of it, he might. Because otherwise he wasn't sure how to get Erik's pants off.

But then Erik was... oh, he was very good at that. And then Charles's pants followed suit and... _oh goodness_ Erik was very good at that, too. And Charles forgot to be embarrassed about the way he'd been about to tear up - he was too busy kissing every bit of skin he could reach when Erik took both of their tunics off.

And then they were _naked_ and as awesome as the mutual reciprocal simultaneous blow jobs in the woods had been, well, they had still been wearing their clothes for that and naked was a hundred thousand times better. Erik couldn't possibly be evil when he was kissing his way down Charles's chest and... _oh Father Sunlight that was good_.

And then Erik was blushing and pulling back again. "Is, um, is this good? Do you want, that is, can I..." Erik bit his lip. He ground his erection against Charles's hip, just a little.

***

Charles's eyes were so large. And slightly alarmed. And Erik shifted so that he was laying next to Charles instead of on top of him because that wasn't the face he wanted Charles to be making. Maybe they could go back to the blissful face he'd made when they were kissing. Erik had peeked. Dark mages didn't kiss with their eyes closed (sometimes).

"We don't have to. If we don't, that's okay." Anything Charles wanted was okay, no matter what it was.

The red lips that had held been the object of his fantasies for so long curved into a smile. "Oh." Charles was smiling - possibly in sudden understanding. "Oh, you meant _penetration_."

Erik groaned. There was no way that word should sound so hot. But Charles made it sound extraordinary. There was nothing to do but nod and hope Charles wasn't going to slap him for moving too fast.

When Charles rolled them, sat up astraddle Erik's hips, Erik wasn't sure... But then Charles was squirming and... that was... and... Erik gasped.

Maybe it was going to be okay after all.

***

Erik scowled at his breakfast of hot oats. Charles, snuggling up against his side, also scowled, though at his own bowl of food. "Erik, Erik, tonight we'll make sure to have some kind of lubrication. I promise." Charles wasn't sure he was in any position to make that promise, but Erik's disappointed face before he'd slid down Charles's body and made Charles come until he saw stars made Charles want to promise foolish things.

It was the pouty lower lip that had convinced Charles - no matter what Erik said or what face he made, Erik was not evil in any way, shape, or form. He was just... misunderstood. Charles could work with that. He snuggled closer and smiled to himself when Erik's scowl gentled.


	29. I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Erik should probably be more upset about last night, but it's hard when Charles is snuggled up next to him during breakfast. And even though Charles announcing within earshot of the whole group that he promised to find lubricant for tonight was embarrassing, it was also extremely satisfying to know everyone knew Charles was his.

Reactions varied. Sean and Alex looked faintly ill, Darwin smirked and gave him a thumbs up and Angel smirked and made a gesture using her thumb to hold down her two middle fingers while simultaneously extending her index and pinky fingers. Moira he'd expected to be angry, but instead she also smirked, and tossed off a salute to him.

Raven and Hank were too busy staring dreamily into each others eyes, and wasn't that interesting? Erik debates bringing this to Charles' attention, but ultimately decided that he didn't want anything distracting Charles away from, well, _him_. And the mission, of course. The mission was very important.

Over the morning camp, the group hashed out their plan to infiltrate Shaw's palace and slay him with the unicorn horn. And Emma's two representatives proved quite useful -- Erik had known Angel had a strong grasp of tactics and strategy, but so did Moira, surprisingly. And actually, everyone had good suggestions to add, even Sean, even Hank. Between the nine of them, they pooled knowledge and cross-examined the plan until it was nearly flawless. It had to work.

*****

"What do you mean, _he's not here_?" Erik howls. Charles tries to calm him, but Erik is having none of it. They'd gone to all this trouble to infiltrate Shaw's palace, and he's not even here? WHAT THE FUCK.

Azazel shrugs. "He went chasing some rumor of a fire-breathing black unicorn that lives on the slopes of the volcano in the west. And left Janos and I in charge."

Janos nods. "Azazel, didn't he also say we should kill Erik on sight if he came back?"

Azazel shrugs again. "Eh, I don't feel like it. Do you feel like it?"

"Not really."

Erik feels a migraine starting. Charles pats his shoulder soothingly.


	30. One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor

"I just can't believe he's fucked off to Mount Doom. Do you have any idea how far away that is?" Erik lay on his back, one arm flung over his eyes to block out the light. His shouting was not helping his headache any. He gestured with the other arm. "And Az is a teleportation mage so, yes, we can get there quickly, but STILL."

Charles hovered at Erik's bedside, not entirely sure what to do. Reassuring Erik that everything would be okay had not worked; Charles noted that dark mages were not particularly good at optimism. Nor had tea been any more effective; Erik had given the tea such a look that Charles had been concerned for the structural integrity of the pewter mug. All of Erik's personal household items were metal.

Finally, Charles simply crawled into the bed next to Erik. "At least Prince Janos didn't feel like trying to kill you." Charles liked to look on the bright side. He also liked to look at the way Erik's collar gaped away from his neck. Charles leaned down to kiss the exposed skin.

Erik arched his neck a little bit to give Charles more room and slowly dropped his arm so he could peek at Charles through his lashes. "I suppose." He looked around the room and then back at Charles. A smile tugged at his mouth. "You know. We _are_ in my royal princely chambers. Alone. Together." He managed a little bit of a hopeful look.

 _Oh, goodness_ , thought Charles when his breath caught in his throat.


	31. It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me

Feeling greatly daring, Charles pushes himself up to a kneeling position on the bed, and slowly strips off his tunic. Erik watches every movement, his eyes burning with lust. Encouraged, Charles moves to a crouch, slides off his trousers. Erik's lips part, and his breathing quickens.

Erik sits up, pulls off his own tunic, and crawls over to Charles. "Mother Night, I just want to kiss every inch of you," Erik breathes, before trailing kisses down Charles' neck. Charles hums in contentment.

"So were you still interested in trying out _penetration_ ," Erik murmurs in Charles' ear, mimicking the tone and cadence Charles had used the other night.

Charles blushed. "I did promise there would be some kind of lubricant, didn't I? Of course I'm assuming you have some here in your chambers."

Erik summons a small pot into his hand. "Yes. But we don't have to, don't feel obligated because you said -- UMPH," Erik was cut off by the sudden appearance of Charles' tongue in his mouth.

There was something to be said for having sex with a dark mage with a reputation for sleeping around -- he knew what he was doing. Erik used the lubricant and his fingers to slowly, gently open Charles up, until Charles was biting the pillow with frustration.

Finally, _finally_ , Erik slowly and gently slid inside, and that flipped some kind of switch in Charles' brain because he could not stop talking, "Oh my, that's your, you're _inside_ me, I feel so full, oh it feels so good, please, please, I need, I need, oh _Erik_ \--"

And Erik is thrusting, slow at first but speeding up, and he hits a spot inside Charles that Charles didn't even know existed, and it shoots magical sparks up and down Charles' spine, Charles' vision clouds, and he forgoes words and starts making broken, strangled cries, it's sweet, exquisite torture, and before Charles knows it, he's coming, coming all over the sheets of Erik's bed, and he would take a moment to be embarrassed that he was done so quickly except Erik is still thrusting into him and it still feels amazing, and Charles rides the sensation until Erik comes a few minutes later.

*****

Amazingly, they'd had time for a nap and a snack and they were starting up round 2, and still no one had interrupted them.

Charles wasn't sure he was quite ready to penetrate Erik in return, so Erik had told him about "this thing we used to do at dark mage university" and had slicked up his thighs and gotten on all fours, and now Charles was thrusting in between Erik's tight, muscular thighs, reveling in the sensations of tight and warm and slick, the pull of skin against skin.

He managed to last longer, this time, and was able to reach around with his hand and grab Erik's cock and stroke him off so that he and Charles climaxed at about the same time. Charles was proud that he was starting to get the hang of this sex thing. Of course he needed more practice. Lots and lots more practice, if he had his way.

Another benefit of sleeping with a dark mage -- he was able to conjure away the wet spot so neither of them had to sleep in it.

Later, as they fell asleep wrapped in each others arms, Charles wished that he could fall asleep like this every night.


	32. Sky rockets in flight, afternoon delight

Erik wanted to go to sleep like that every night. His headache was gone. He was comfortable and warm and Charles had spent the night tucked up against Erik's shoulder, snoring slightly and drooling just a little bit. Erik was almost cheerful.

Of course that was tempting disaster. But along with his cheerfulness, Erik felt a light and effervescent something... maybe it was optimism? He wasn't sure, as he'd never actually felt it before. Charles would probably know. He'd ask Charles...

Charles who was no longer warming the bed next to him. Erik blinked his eyes open.

"Charles?"

The man in question was at the window, looking out at the forest where Shaw had used Charles for his rituals.

He'd heard Erik shift and stir - the dark mage was not a quiet or restful sleeper, but that was no surprise - so Charles wasn't surprised at sleepy voice searching for him. He turned back to the bed. "Just thought I'd see if I could catch a glimpse of the local herd." He hadn't expected to, really. And he certainly didn't regret having sex with Erik.

But it was still an adjustment. He supposed he'd just need to practice more - it was possible he was going to be obsessed with sex for a little while. He should probably get Erik some vitamins.

Erik sat up and the covers pooled around his waist.

A lot of vitamins.

Maybe he should take some, too.

Charles was contemplating jumping back into the bed - could he jump directly into Erik's lap or was that too potentially injurious? - when the door shook from the force of the knocking.

"I'm opening this door!" Raven shouted. "And you had all better be wearing pants!"


	33. Singin' The Doom Song

Erik tossed Charles a blanket to cover himself with, pulled the covers up around himself, and opened the door with a gesture.

Raven strode in, and almost immediately covered her eyes. "I told you to be wearing pants!"

"We're both covered up. What do you want?" Erik was in no mood for this, not when he'd planned a round of morning sex.

"Well, since you two decided to sleep in, we've been making plans. Since _someone_ needs to do some work around here," Raven retorted scathingly. "Angel's convinced Azazel to drop us off at Mount Doom this morning, so hurry up and get ready and meet us in the Great Hall." She flounced out of the room, no doubt to go torment the others, Erik thought uncharitably.

Charles sighed, and reached for his clothes.

"One for the road?" asked Erik.

"We need to get ready," said Charles regretfully.

"It's not like they're going to leave without us," said Erik. Then he flung the covers off his body.

Charles leapt onto the bed, and they had one for the road.

*****

Between Erik's glares and Charles' placating smiles, they managed to keep everyone off their backs about their late arrival to the Great Hall.

Azazel teleported them with minimal fuss to the base of Mount Doom.

"God, couldn't the bad guy hole up on Mount Fluffy Bunnies for once?" Sean muttered. Erik snorted. Sean had clearly never been to Mount Fluffy Bunnies, which was crawling with the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you ever laid eyes on, with huge sharp pointy teeth. Erik would take Mount Doom any day of the week.

Right. Time to find Shaw and kill him. Then go home and have lots of victory sex with Charles. Erik was feeling good about this plan.


	34. Shun The Nonbeliever

"At least it isn't Candy Mountain," Erik muttered under his breath - Sean was still complaining. Erik wondered, in fact, if Azazel would be willing to drop Sean off at Candy Mountain. There were sinister things there. Sinister kidney thieves.

They camped halfway up the mountain. It was dusty and unpleasant. Still, Erik and Charles wore matching grins. Smug grins. Satisfied grins.

Raven rolled her eyes.

Further up the mountain, until the pleasant landscape was nothing but lava rock and dry painful edges. Charles started to look a little less smug and a little more concerned. Erik's smile was just as cheery - he had always had a deep appreciation for the barren landscape on the higher reaches of Mount Doom. It wasn't like he wanted a summer palace there or anything but, hey, volcanoes were pretty, too.

He smile right up until Charles went missing. They had stopped for lunch and Charles had stepped off to take care of some restroom business sans restroom - Erik had teased him about being so shy but, really, privacy for such functions was a social norm so he couldn't protest too much. And then Charles hadn't returned.

"Shaw is behind this." Erik scowled and even Angel took a step back.

***

Who brought a bird cage to a mountain? Charles rattled the cage bars but Shaw ignored him. The cage was lashed to a cart pulled by some of Shaw's more interesting-looking minions. They ignored him, too.

Well, then, this was all just ridiculous. Everything. Charles closed his eyes and started to plan.


	35. Prisoner of Love

"Why would Shaw even do that? It's not like Charles can help summon unicorns any more." Sean points out.

_Revenge_ thinks Erik and his heart sinks.

"Yes, but Shaw may not know that. If Charles and Erik only engaged in non-penetrative acts Shaw may believe that Charles could still be of use to him," says Hank, and everyone turns to look at Erik.

Erik absolutely does not blush. "I assure you, Charles will not be summoning any unicorns."

"So there's no reason for Shaw not to simply kill him," and Erik would hit Angel, if she weren't entirely correct.

Raven looks utterly horrified, and everyone else looks grim.

Moira starts going through Charles's things.

"Moira!" Raven yelps. "He's not even dead yet! How could you?"

Moira rolls her eyes. "Raven, you are understandably upset, but seriously. Give me the benefit of the doubt for a least a few minutes." Moira plucks -- something -- off of Charles's pack and brings it over to Erik.

It's a human hair. One of Charles'.

"You can use this to cast a tracking spell, right?"

Erik is poleaxed.

*****

Charles is used to playing a long, subtle game, but there's no point anymore -- Shaw knows, irrefuteably, that Charles is his enemy.

So when they stop for a rest, Charles picks his moment, reaches his arm out of the cage and grabs a few rocks off the ground.

He casually tosses each one off into bushes in a different direction when his guards aren't looking, and bless Shaw for not recruiting for brains, the guards all go off to investigate.

He slides his lockpicks out of his boot and has the lock open in a trice, slips out of the cage.

"Going somewhere?"

Charles freezes and turns around to face Shaw.

"Just thought I'd take a stroll, stretch my legs a bit," Charles says with false bravado.

Then he throws his remaining rock at Shaw's stupid face.

Charles feels a jolt of vicious satisfaction as Shaw sinks to the ground, unconscious.

Then he takes off running.


	36. White Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows

If Erik were a better person, he'd step back and let the Lady Moira marry Charles because she was so obviously the better choice after she'd thought of the tracking spell. Erik had snatched the hair from her and, of course, cast a flawless spell. But she'd still been the one to think of it.

But Erik was not a better person; he was a dark mage and he'd be damned to Mother Night before he was going to give Charles up. Especially after experiencing how loose-limbed and happy Charles was after being fucked into the mattress. Lady Moira couldn't give him _that_. Well, at least not without expensive accessories.

That was actually a distracting thought - Erik shook his head and focused his attention on the strand of hair still clutched in his fingers. Charles was just a little bit further ahead... moving closer....

***

Charles veered off into the woods because Shaw wasn't going to stay unconscious on the ground for very long. The rock hadn't been nearly big enough to put the demon down permanently. No, for that he needed the unicorn horn that he had _left with Erik, dammit_.

A crashing in the bushes made Charles's heart pound - and then he realized he knew that sound. Hoofbeats. Running horse. Charles broke through into a clearing.

Not horses. Unicorns.

And they weren't running from him.

That didn't make any sense at _all_ , Charles thought. After all, he was still marginally sore from being... devirginized. The blush was uncontrollable. And apparently it made one of the unicorns curious; the large, pearly white creature with an unearthly glow about it ambled over and nudged at his chest with its nose.

It was a world gone mad.


	37. Burn Baby Burn

Erik leads the charge, and the rest of the team follows. They crash into a clearing to find Charles ... surrounded by unicorns.

Everyone stops dead, and then they all shoot side-eyed glanced at Erik, who is trying desperately not to blush.

This doesn't make sense. It's not like he _hallucinated_ giving Charles that blowjob, or fucking him into the mattress.

"Erik!" cries Charles and then he's flinging himself into Erik's arms. And then shoves his tongue down Erik's throat.

Erik abruptly stops caring about ... anything else, and it takes being grabbed by the shoulder and shaken before he let's go.

"What!!" Erik snarls into Angel's face.

"Sweetie, we have a mission to complete, remember? First we kill Shaw, _then_ you get to makeout with your boyfriend. That's how it works, right?"

Erik begrudingly admits Angel has a point.

He looks around the clearing, and notices the unicorns are still there, even though they've withdrawn to a safe distance. Well, except for one unicorn that is standing way to close to Charles and staring at both of them in a really creepy manner.

*****

Charles opens his mouth, about to say something, when an unearthly roar rings out.

Everyone looks up the steep slope that borders one edge of the clearing, to see Shaw, riding a black unicorn with flaming eyes down the side of the mountain, straight toward them.

Everyone scatters, and Shaw thunders into the clearing, his steed rearing up against the sky, and that's when the volcano erupts in the sky behind him.

Charles may hate the man, but he has to admit he knows how to make an entrance.


	38. Never Run From Anything Immortal; It Only Attracts Their Attention

The unicorns whirl and rear - the dust rises and when it settles again, Shaw and his black unicorn are standing on one side of the clearing while Charles and Erik and their company are on the other side protected by the herd.

Apparently unicorns don't actually care about virginity.

Charles will be bitter about this later.

The creepy unicorn, with its enormous blue eyes, stayed close. And then it whinnied. Much like an asthmatic horse.

_{{Flames, really? You couldn't do better than flames? Why not lightning? Why not thunder? Why do you have to be so **emo**?}}_

The black unicorn rears - Shaw isn't expecting it because Erik can see him scrambling to grab at the saddle horn.

_{{Oh my god, why are you guys always so mean to me?}}_

Charles and Erik trade a look. They... are missing something important, they both know it.


	39. The Endgame

The creepy unicorn and the black unicorn keep whinnying at each other, but Shaw is able to get his mount back under control.

Erik squeezes Charles' hand in solidarity.

"Are you ready for this?" murmurs Charles.

"Let's find out," says Erik. "Now hand me the unicorn horn."

Charles' eyebrows shoot up. "I thought you had it."

 _Shit_. Erik's about to scramble for a plan, to stall, to do _anything_ , when Shaw makes a quiet, strangled gasp and dissolves into dust.

Charles and Erik blink. That was ... unexpected.

The unicorn horn falls to the ground from where it had impaled Shaw from behind, while the black unicorn dances to the side.

"Sorry," says Angel, and she doesn't sound sorry at all, and how had she gotten behind Shaw to make that throw, anyway? "But you guys were taking too long."

Erik opens his mouth, about to begin an epic rant, when Charles pulls him down for a kiss.

Damn Charles and his super distracting tongue anyway.

"Isn't it enough that he's dead, and we can be together?" asks Charles after he breaks the kiss.

 _Yes_ , thinks Erik as he pulls Charles into another kiss. _Yes, it's enough_.


	40. Epilogue: One Year Later

For the first time in over a decade, Sorceress-Regnant Emma Frost has crossed the border into Shaw's -- now former -- kingdom.

She once prepared (feared) to do so for war. She's pleasantly surprised to do for a much more happy occasion, the state wedding of soon-to-be co-consorts Erik and Charles.

And it's good to see her cousin Moira, and Angel again, as they've been stationed here as Emma's permanent ambassadors.

Not that she hasn't heard from them -- and _about them_ \-- in the past year. Not only were there plenty of letters, but as soon as word got out about Shaw's death, the bards had descended like locusts. (Angel, now acclaimed as The Demonslayer, had more than once nearly violated bardic immunity when the bards had started calling her that.)

Meanwhile, Azazel and Janos were taking advantage of the opportunity to catch up with their friends, as they'd been sent to her court as Erik's and Charles' ambassadors. Emma bet that Erik had picked them both to get potential claimants out of his court, and because he thought their lackadaisical attitudes towards, well, everything, would offend her. (The joke was on Erik. Azazel, Janos, and Emma got on like a house afire. Not to mention the sex was _fantastic_.)

*****

_They really are adorable together_ , Emma muses privately as she sees Charles calm a scowling Erik, who soon melted under his betrothed's attentions.

And if she took advantage of their mutual distraction to negotiate a few new trade agreements in her favor, well, she never claimed to be a nice person.

*****

And so under the light of the full moon at midnight on the winter solstice deep in the forest (with plenty of warming spells cast), surrounded by friends, nobles of two courts, and a herd of unicorns, Erik and Charles pledged themselves to each other under the auspices of Mother Night and Father Sunlight.

Sorceress-Regnant Emma Frost smiles, and reinforces the illusion spell she's cast over her face.

It would ruin her reputation if word got out that she cries at weddings.

 

~ _fin_


End file.
